Winter Sleep
by laa-Lii1
Summary: To walk along in life, hiding behind smiles, hoping no one can see behind the mask she carries. Life can be constructed on pillars of lies that can easily topple over like dominoes once they've been surfaced. And as happy as Kagome can be when she falls in love, the lies that have been formed around her unknowingly, suddenly threatens more than her life.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not, whatsoever, own Inuyasha, it utterly belongs to Takahashi Rumiko. Genius that she was. Also, i disclaim Winter Sleep, as lovely as the song is, it, alas, belongs to the even lovelier OLIVIA. Please check out the song if you haven't heard it.**

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**_Chapter 1: Voices in the Dark_**

"Do you love me?" his deep, cold voice disturbed the silence of the dark room. He already knew the answer, he hardly considered it a question, and it was more of a test so he could see just how far she was willing to go for him. The girl that had her back displayed before him was always so eager to please him. And that enticed him further to her. What he had for her love wasn't love, it was more along the lines of affection, that's what he considered this tender obsession to be. Pushing her to her own brink, and hungrily receiving what she was so willing to give. It was the only reason why he had held onto her so greedily. Why he still had her around this long. Why he hasn't disposed of her.

"Of course I do! Haven't I done enough for you to know the answer to that already?" she exclaimed over her shoulder

"Show me." The warmth of his breath caressed the shell of her ear, awakening her hunger for him again.

"...how?" a cold, sharp object was pressed into her palm, surprising her. Chills of thrill rose up her spin, quickening her pulse. This was why she had fallen for this insane man. He accepted her darker side, the side that her own father had invoked in her.

"Kagura Watanabe, do you know her?" he whispered into her ear, a firm hand snaking around her small waist, pulling her flush against his naked body.

"Yeah...why?" she whispered, knowing exactly where this was heading.

"You don't need me to explain."

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**A/N: Before i move on, I thought I'd let you guys know that the mysterious lovers I.D's will be figured out soon, so don't fret my lovelies. And i know that this was a very VERY short chapter, but I hope it was enough to entice ya'll out there.**

**Also if you some of you out there want to burn me, then don't, i prefer constructive criticism. Like that it'll help me be a better writer for you guys.**


	2. Are You There?

**Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing. **

**Warning: There will be a character death. Just thought I'd let my sensitive buddies out there know. Also, teenage pregnancy...and i don't think i mentioned it in the last chapter but this story is AU and it will have OOC but I'll try to the best of my abilities to keep everyone in line. I hope.**

**Sooooo... sorry for the long wait. My only excuse? things happens...and i didn't know how to upload this blasted chapter! New here, what can you say :) Atleast its up, right?**

**Lissome Dalliance: You are absolutely correct in your guess, though, i sadly admit that our heroine won't be showing up 'till the next chappie. I can't wait to here your other guess on who the our first chapter lover is ;)**

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**_CHAPTER 02: Are You There?_**

_What is it about time?_

_How is it possible that it so easily trickled out of the cracks of our fingers like sand?_

_Is it that things were meant to be this way? What's the word – destiny?_

_Or was it because of the emotional choices that we tend to make that things end up being the way they are?_

_By the time our end comes, would there be proof that we were ever here?_

_In the end, we regret not having enough time_

_In the end, we regret the things we weren't able to do…_

_to start_

_…finish._

_ - laa-Lii_

SLAM!

"Kanna is that you?" Kagura hollered as soon as she stepped out of her room. _Jeez, did she really have to slam the door? She wasn't even supposed to be home 'till 5! _Kagura thought as she walked down the hallway, past the framed, smiling faces that lined the walls on both sides. Somehow the silence that had followed the slam of the door downstairs had left a prickly thought that wanted to voice itself within Kagura loudly. She was paranoid enough, she didn't need something else intruding on her thoughts like a siren screaming for attention.

"Kanna!" she seriously couldn't stand how Kanna was so eerily quiet. "You brat! I'll kick you out if you're messing around with me."

_ Kanna doesn't have a key with her…_a little voice piped up. Warning her.

Stopping at the top of the stairs, she looking down into the dark living room. Kagura had locked the door, there was no doubt about that, in fact, she was 100% sure. There was no possible way that –

A light scratch tore through the silence of the house, lurching her heart into her throat. The sound had been faint but it had made its presence well known, calling out to her.

_ Did she really need to go down there? _She thought as she took a hesitant step down a stair. If Kanna had come in, she would have probably been standing at the bottom of the stairs staring up at her with her dull, black eyes; a ghost of a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth, letting Kagura know that Kanna was enjoying her nervousness.

"Kanna! I swear if you're fucking around with me, I'll strangle you!" Kagura shouted, stomping down the stairs. This was past creepy-Kanna and into a new territory that Kagura wasn't sure she wanted to venture into.

"Kanna?" she called out cautiously, stopping in the middle of the living room that was littered with the fading light that streamed in through the cracks of the blinds. A bookcase crammed with books towered over the rest of the furniture. The set of leather couches looked darker in the quickly dimming room. The red blinking of the telephone light lit up the coffee table with its red hue. She exhaled, realizing she had been holding her breath a bit too long.

The scratch that drifted out innocently from behind the swinging door of the kitchen was thunderous against Kagura's ears. Her heart raced in a frantic pulse.

Creeping closer to the lonely, stark door that stood out against the surrounding color of the wall, she outstretched her hand, her thin fingers lightly pushing against the door, cracking it open. _Please let it be Kanna._

_ Please._

_ RING-RING!_

"AHHHHHH! FUCK!"

"– FUCK!"

"You nearly gave me a heart-attack!" Kagura growled into the phone the moment she had it up against her ear.

_ "What's the point of having a phone when you NEVER answer it?!"_

"I – sorry," Kagura breathed out, trying to relax her over-taxed heart. "I was down stairs…I thought I heard something."

_ "Huh. Well I'm outside already, open the door!"_

"K"

_ "Oh hey, wait! Do you have someone over?"_

"No," pause, "Why?"

_ "Well, there's a car parked out – "_

_ CLICK_

"So I've heard you're playing mommy, _Ka-gu-ra." _came a sing-song voice form behind her.

Panicked, Kagura whipped around. Her hand instinctively resting on her bulging stomach at the comment. Her stomach painfully knotted. The fluttering movements within her stomach only made the feeling overwhelming. It rose from the pit of her stomach and wormed its way into her lungs. Cutting off the steady flow of oxygen.

"What – " Kagura started but failed to finish her thought.

_ How?_

"What am I doing here? Oh you know, thought I'd come and play housemate with you."

"K –" Kagura stuttered, trying to figure out why she was here of all places, acting like if she hadn't intruded, but her mind ran to dead ends at every idea her mind came up with.

_Why was she hear? _Kagura saw her every day, in every class she had, but not once had they talked to each other. Never even acknowledge each other's existence. Not even when Kagura had started talking to –

"Shhhh. It's okay." She coaxed, her almost black eyes glittering in anticipation. "I won't take too long. It'll be quite fun, actually."

A flash of anger drove her muscles forward, against Kagura's own conscious thoughts, her hand sliced through the air, palm making a stinging contact against soft flesh, "Get out!"

In that instant, her breath was knocked out of her lungs. Pain speared up her spine and around her stomach. Realizing too late that what she had seen coming at her had been a knife.

She looked down at where she had felt the intrusion. Watching her own blood flow out from a wound she knew hadn't been there before. She watched as her shirt got soaked in her blood, the warmth of it trickling down her bare thighs and splattering on her feet and the carpet. She wanted to laugh, even if this was hardly the occasion for it.

_ It's not real…is it?_ Her thoughts whispered to her in a calm quietness she never knew she was capable of.

Terror of the realization that was starting to dawn on her made her back away slowly. She winced at the pain that traveled up her spine in a sharp tug. The movements within her were more frantic now. Kagura felt her heart slow down yet her breath hitched faster, unsteadying her.

The second strike followed shortly after. Kagura felt – more like heard – the thud of the knife as it stopped from going any deeper. _No pain,_ she thought randomly as the intrusion left her stomach.

Kagura lifted a lethargic, thin hand and clutched onto the wrist of others hand, steadying herself from falling.

"Don't touch me!" she hissed, shoving Kagura to the floor.

_It's not real._

That thought repeated itself as she felt her world tilting to a side.

The third strike came. Faster. Harder. In horrid fascination, Kagura watched as the gleam of the knife entered her flesh again and disappeared in it. Tears burned behind her eyes at the thought of never getting another day. Of never giving birth to her little boy. Of never growing old to see her baby grow beside her.

The outer edges of her vision had disappeared, her mind scrambling at the last minute she knew she had left. Kagura frantically latched onto the only single thought that might be a possibility for this, but she denied it. He had promised her. He had _promised_ her.

Her own breathing choked her. Coming in quicker pants now. "Why?" had left her lips unknowingly as her world drenched itself in darkness. As her slowing heart pounded a wavering beat after a wavering beat against her ears. The erratic movements in her stomach had stopped mere seconds, – minutes, hours? – ago.

_Please let him be asleep, _she restlessly prayed, tears burning against her cold skin.

She walked up to Kagura. Squatted down in front of her and told the barely alive corpse that limply lay there in a sing-song voice, "Be-cause, you were getting in the wa-ay. Besides! I want to play mommy too!"

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**A.N: Hope ya'll enjoyed. I'd luv feedback. See you guys soon...**

**And like I mentioned before, I really didn't know how to upload a new chapter. So forgive my earlier tries.**


	3. Where Are You?

**DISCLAIMER: I absolutely own nothing here. Now let us thank Takahashi Rumiko for the characters that she has let us play around with.**

**A.N: So finally, Kagome makes her entrance into the story. From now, the story will be based on 1st pov since it is Kagomes view on all of this - unless i post up my mysterious chapters. I'll try my best to stick to her character...but i don't think it's going to work out so great. Well, ya'll enjoy.**

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****_I wonder whose here?_ The flitting thought whispers to me again for the third time as I pass the black jeep, noticing a jagged line running across the length of the door. I stop, taking another long look at its round head lights, and glossy paint. Somehow it looks familiar, but then again, there are plenty of jeeps crawling on the streets; that look exactly like this one. That has the same scratch, right? There's no way that Rin was here. Besides, she doesn't even know where Kagura lives. Sure, both Kagura and Rin talk on a regular basis whenever I'm around, but that's because they tolerate each other.

Well, more exactly, Kagura tolerates Rin.

_ Must be someone else._ I turn and walk the last couple of steps to the door. _I hope it's not her ex, _I thought as I turn the knob.

Locked. _Just great!_

I pound on the door and for good measure, jam my finger in the doorbell button three times._ That should get her attention._

I seriously don't know why Kagura always wants me to call her before I get here or to let her know that I'm waiting for her outside; when she takes forever getting to the damn door.

"Come on Kagura." I pound harder on the door.

The door squeaks open as I try wiggling the key from the lock. Thank the Buddha I had demanded a key from her three months ago. Or else I probably would've still been waiting for Kagura to get her ass off of her bed just to get the door. _It seriously didn't take _anybody– _pregnant or not _– _this long to open a damn door._

"Where are you?" I say, stretching my words, hoping that they come off as playful. The last thing I want is to feed Kagura's paranoia.

"Kagura? It's me. Kagome." I glance around the living room, toeing my shoes off and closing the door. It was weird seeing the living room this dark. I was used to the curtains being open, the light pushing away the shadows into corners. I was used to Kanna laying down on the ground, staring aimlessly at the TV. And her mom shooing me upstairs, but not before handing me a plate of homemade cookies.

I start marching up the stairs, noticing smears of red on some of the steps.

A tiny voice whispers at me before I'm able to shove it away, there is _no_ possible way it's blood. I was not about to let my mind hold me hostage of my own imagination.

"Kagura?" Urgency pushes my legs up the flight of stairs.

_ It's not bl _– a sick warmth seeped into my socks. _Blood._

It's just strawberry jam I force myself to belief it as I sprint down the hall and shove the door open.

Unlike the lonely darkness from downstairs, in here, the light spills in from the open curtains and litters every surface possible.

She was sitting down. Her back against the headboards. Legs spread out wide in front of her. Her head hung limply on her shoulders in an odd angle. Stark red clashed against the white of her shirt, gleamed against the white of her skin.

Blood.

Too much blood.

It dribbled down her sheets and pooled on the ground.

I understood exactly well the scene that was displayed out before me like an exhibition, but I didn't want to believe it. I refused to believe it. In the back of my head the insistent whisper that I tried squashing earlier, started to grow louder and louder with each step I took towards her, telling me; she's dead, she's dead, she's dead…

No.

I refused. To believe. It.

The concept wasn't something I could wrap my arms around.

It was too alien. Foreign.

How long had I just stood there? Staring? I'm sure what felt like an eternal century had probably only been only a minute or seconds.

Air wheezed out of my lungs. Fear rushed through me, my heart thundering against my ears. A sudden thought darted through my head, 'what if I was imagining this?'

I probably fell asleep in the car, right?

Kagura was just joking, right?

I preferred to be scared and laugh about it later instead of having this sense of dread muddying my senses. I squeezed my eyes shut, praying that I was reading too much into this.

_ Someone must've drugged me. It must be the reason why I'm seeing things._

The shock of the vibration from my back pocket jerked me awake from my denial, making me landing hard on my ass. My tears blur the scene in front of me. The oxygen that was fighting its way into my lungs wasn't coming in fast enough. I scramble back to my feet, barely making it past the door when the dizziness that invaded my senses quickly crumbled my balance. I fall hard on my knees.

The upbeat tune that was completely out of place pierced the suffocating silence. I managed to muddle through the process of answering the phone.

_"Where are _—_"_

"Oh my God." I had barely heard myself, barely registered that my lip had moved at all. Even now, as I thought about it, it still felt too surreal. Even now, that I wasn't look at Kagura's body, her image was burned into my mind.

"_Kagome? What's wro _—_"_

"She's dead." I whisper into the phone as I feel them; hot tears trailing down my cold face. Tears that I had stopped shedding since I was 9 years old.

_"Where are you?"_

"She's dead." I repeat myself, my voice cracking at the truth that forces itself out of my lips. The lump that had been lodged on my throat tears through my body.

_She's dead._

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_**A.N: I admit i had a hard time writting this chapter. I was actually considering deleting it but i wanted Kagome to be hunted by this feeling uselessness - i know, it's mean. **_

**_If you guys thought that i lacked on anything in this chapter, let me know. I want to be able to make this an enjoyable read for all us._**

**_Ya'll come back soon _**


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: I own absolutely nothing. Not the characters. Not the majestic world of Inuyasha. Nope. It all belongs to our genius Takahashi Rumiko.**

**A.N. : I'm back from the dead! ^-^;; Yeaaaah...my PC was totally crapped out. But I got a knew one now! HOORAY for me c: anyways...**

**Onwards. Oh WAIT! The reason for this chapter - which i felt was necessary- is so some of you guys can understand the dynamics of Kagome's and her moms relationship. Which is very important for the story.**

******Kag's and her moms relationship shall be explained further down the road. So read on.**

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_**CHAPTER 04: Can't You See Me?**_

_**.**_

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_**.**_

The slam of the door broke into the silence of the house, signaling the residents my return.

"Kagome, is that you child?" Kaede's voice drifts towards me from somewhere at the end of the hallway.

_ She's probably in the living room._

I smile at the thought of Kaede being anywhere else besides the kitchen. Usually, she was always slaving over the stove trying to fatten me up. At one point, I believed that she wasn't even allowed to leave the confines of the kitchen. But then, I realized as I got older, that she was the one that kept the house running smoothly. She's the one that kept me and my parents in line when it was necessary. And that was all the time. She's a total classic, and I admire every bit of her waning glory.

"Yes Kaede," I answer back, dragging my massive yellow bag behind me as I take a couple of steps towards the stairs, wondering if she'd been waiting for me to get home.

"Can you come into the living room?" she asks, her hunched form appearing at the entrance of the living room. Her lone sharp eye already telling me that I was not going to enjoy this.

"Do I have to? I'm really tired." I whine, taking another step towards the stupidly large stairway that seems to be endless, hoping she would get the hint.

Seriously. What is it with school? For some reason, even though I never do anything there, I always come out exhausted and I craved my bed as bad as a pot heads craved, well, pot.

"There's someone here to see you." Mom's sweet voice comes from within the living room. And as much as I hate to admit, my heart stutters for a couple of beats before I wrench it back to its place.

I will NOT let my own mind trick me into hope that shouldn't be there anymore.

Mom and me in the same room. Same breathing space. The occasions where we had to share the same room were rare and having her indirectly direct her words at me was even more rare. Actually? - mom being out of her room was as rare as trying to get close to the rainbow.

_Wonder what this is about?_ My body perks up at the thought. I mean...if she's inside that room, and someone is here to see me, then it must mean that she's uncomfortable about it. And anything that made mom uncomfortable always made me happy. Oh this worked good. I'm in.

"Well can I at least change?" I ask Kaede, hoping that it would be a yes. I swear I'd throw myself to the ground and cry if I had to spend another minute in these damn skinny jeans! I was not about to put the safety of my legs in jeopardy just because my ass looks good in them. It's the last time I wear them. My poor thighs need oxygen damn it! What was I thinking? I don't even know why I let Rin talk me into getting a pair.

Thoughts of my thighs stumble onto each other and fall flat on their faces when I see mom appear beside Kaede. Her hard, brown eyes that I've grown to hate over the years travel from my choppy bangs, all the way down to my flat-covered feet. I look at Kaede, silently begging her for help. It was annoying enough to be in the same room with her, but for her to look at me as if I've stepped into her life for the first time really did yank the strings of my heart. Stab of insecurities prickle my skin, wondering if what she saw was to her liking. If she appreciated that her only daughter has finally grown up?

I can't help the avalanche of bruised questions as they assault me. But only one questions stood out like a Vegas neon sign. Didn't she realize that all the stupid things I did — without thinking of the consequences — was so she could notice me?

Ugh. I'm so depressing. Why should I even care anymore?

Sure these were questions that constantly plague my waking life, but I know that no matter how much I want those answers, there is no way that I'll get to know the truth for all the lies. I think not even in moms death bed would she tell me. Honestly, I think I'd be better off without knowing her excuse. How they say; denial is bliss, yet it's the ignorant that suffer the most.

Sigh.

She shakes her head, "There's no need," turns on her heels and walks back into the living room.

_Typical._ But then again, it wasn't much of a surprise. I had expected it, yet the anger bubbled within my chest at her answer. My ears burned with anger for being denied that little request. It's not that I was used to getting what I wanted, but she had no right.

The women that held the title of 'mother' didn't have the right to have any sort of dictatorship over my person. Not when she was too busy trying to avoid being my mom and whoring around to whoever she got the opportunity with. Freakin' coke addict…that's what she is. In what other way can I think of her since it's what I've seen throughout the years? Even when Kaede begs me to have a little more respect for her, I just can't give it.

How can someone have respect for a person that didn't have it for themselves? People and their double-standards were weird. Demanding. And hypocrites.

Pfft. I could easily go upstairs and take my sweat time changing and come down whenever I felt like it, and it really did sound tantalizing. Cramming a ten minute nap wouldn't hurt either, but the look Kaede was shooting at me told me she'd skewer me later if I didn't suck it up and be a big girl about it. So I gulped down my pride and complied.

I'd rather deal with mom's not so unusual rejection then to get the end of Kaede's withering anger.

Yep. Being quiet for the moment sounds like a very sane plan right now.

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**A.N: Hope ya'll enjoyed. **


	5. Well Hello Detective

**DISCLAIMER: Ya'll know the drill. I own nothing.**

**A.N: Trying to catch up with lost time so here's another chappie for ya'll. No worries, Yasha will make his appearance soon. Have patience.**

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_**CHAPTER 05: WELL HELLO DETECTIVE**_

I almost trip on my own two feet as I enter the living room.

A pair of gold eyes that can rival sweet honey glinting from the light of the radiant sun stare at me as soon as I enter.

I look back at Kaede, who is still standing at the entrance of the room. Out of the corner of my eyes, mom was sitting down, looking the part of the well groomed pet _he_ had trained her to be.

_Leading by example. Please, I'm glad to rain on that parade._

"Kagome. I'm detective Takahashi." his deep, rich voice reaches into my thoughts and brings me back to the present moment.

"I'm not talking until mom leaves the room." I say in a short, tumbled rush, turning to look at her. And slowly, ever so slowly, I can see the shifting of moms features. The downward pull of her lips — that used to give me tender kisses back then when she would tuck me in at night, are now only used to lash at me whenever she can't find a way out of her drug induced dementia. Her eyes — that used to show me kindness, — were trying to dig into me. But just like how violent waves toss the ocean around and turn into a deceptive calmness, so did her face. Instantly, that sickening sweet smile was placed on her face. And with the dignity I left her with, she stood up, smoothed out her pristine dress and said, "Of course dear, whatever you want. I'll be around if you need me."

Sure.

Even with that bright smile that could melt butter in an instant, she still left behind a poisonous chill. It was something that wanted to suffocate my lungs and deprive me of oxygen.

But it was nothing I wasn't used to.

"Kaede?" I turn to look at her as well. Out of all the things that I loved about her was that, over the years that she had and still is mothering me, she can easily pick up on what I'm trying to say without having to say much at all.

Oh yeah, we women are total mind readers…yeah right.

"Are you sure child?" she asks me, her one eye flitting over to the dead serious detective. Unsure if it was the right thing to leave me alone with a stranger, specially to talk about that one event that still has me screaming 'till my throat is raw from all the nightmares I have.

I walk over to her and take her into my arms. The warmth of her tiny body reassuring me. I step away from her and lovingly caress the eye patch that stood out against her aged face. Placing a tiny peck on it before telling her I was sure.

"Besides, I'll scream stranger danger if I start getting uncomfortable."

"I'm sure you will…well, you know where to find me. If you need anything, call for me." - pause - "You will, won't you?"

"Yes Kaede. I promise."

She walks away, glancing back at me.

The eye patch. It was a constant reminder of the liberty he was willing to give me, but only to a limit.

There was always a limit.

.

.

I turn and take a good look at the detective as I walk towards him. He looked young. He even dressed the part; faded jeans, black marine boots and a snug t-shirt. If I wasn't too nervous about the upcoming talk, I'd probably shy away from his intense look. Those golden eyes aren't something you can easily overlook, and his silvery locks that were pulled back in a ponytail demanded as much attention, if not more.

"Nice to meet you detective," I say, holding out my hand, opting for the manners that had been drilled into me. After all, I had been well groomed as well and Kaede would still expects me to act like a normal human being. Specially in this rare case of a guest.

_Guess mother and you aren't that much different,_ a voice whispers at my hypocrisy.

"We should take a seat." his voice authoritative. Demanding. A complete contrast from the firm yet gentle hand that clasped around mine and shook it.

I most certainly didn't want to sit down. Did I mention that these jeans were killing me?! Yet my legs moved without even listening to my demand.

He gracefully sits down on _his_ favorite leather recliner and I sit down where mom had sat a few moments ago, tucking my feet under me.

_Just like her,_ that voice insists again.

"What was your reason for going to Kagura's house the day of her murder?" he starts.

Straight to the point.

I knew I should've expect his questioning, it was the only reason why he was here, but the way he offhandedly asks me. That catches me off guard. I slouch further into my seat and sigh. He had barely started the interrogation and I could already feel my throat constricting itself into a knot.

"We used to study together." I say, looking away from him and glancing around the barely furnished living room. This room was completely dead. Out of all the rooms in the house, this was the least inhabited and dwelled upon. It hardly got any action. You'd think that the chimney below the massive family portrait would attract us here, but the only person that took advantage of it was mom.

"Your mother mentioned that she didn't know you used to go to Miss Watanabe's house."

"Ha! That woman doesn't even know half the things I do." Bitter. I sounded too bitter and even he raised a well kept eyebrow at my tone as I turn and look at him.

"Was there any confrontation between the two of you before her death?" I cringe at the way he cruelly says death; like if it was a normal thing. The word alone grapples with the memory of that day. Back then, when I would think of Kagura, she looked alive with an untouchable glow that encase her porcelain skin. And now, I couldn't think of her any other way then the girl with blood-tainted lips and sickly white skin. I couldn't keep those images apart from one another. They were meshed together like an intricate braid that was held firmly in its place with an elastic band at the end.

Death. Sure it's a natural occurrence. Everyone heard about it, read about it, but never once did I suspected that I'd be on this side of the story. Never had I mourned someones life, until her. Maybe to him it was a daily thing, but to me, it was just a chapter that I wanted to finish and get over with. But that chapter didn't want to end any time soon. It was a huge run on paragraph without an ending anywhere near sight to move on to the next scene.

"No."

"Never?" Not once did those enchanting eyes of his leave my face. He might've looked uninterested, even bored, but I knew he was taking in every word I was saying and every move I made.

I shake my head. "Yeah, we had argued before, but it wasn't for me to..." I swallow the giant knot that was spreading its fingers tighter and tighter around my throat "...hurt her for it. She was more then a friend."

Both of his eyebrows fly up at my last comment. I laugh at the thought of what he might be thinking.

"No, she wasn't my girlfriend." I clear my throat. "She was like a sister."

"I see."

I focus my all of my attention on him, his lean form. I swear he's as perfect as a runway model. Oh, he could totally pull that career off.

"Why are you back for more information? I told the other detective everything I knew."

"Your friend had a tattoo. Did you know that?" He ignores my question, asking his own.

I nod. Yeah I did actually, she had shown it to me once after she came out of the shower. She had it placed right underneath the swell of her enlarging right breast. Of all the cute, appropriate things she could've permanently placed on her body, I always wondered why she had chosen a fist sized black spider with a cursive N settled in clashing red on the back of the ugly thing.

"Do you have one?"

I mentally cringe at the thought of having something like that on my body. "No. I'm not a fan of needles." Unconsciously, I rub the swallow taking flight on my index finger near my knuckle that I had recently gotten.

That night, I learned what a wet, wooden spatula felt like. I think I still had the yellowing of the fading bruises as evidence.

"Yet you have marked yourself." He says, glancing at the small mark on my finger and then settling his eyes on me again.

"That's why I'm not a fan of needles." I shrug, trying to take the subject off myself, "You know, kids have to learn the hard way and all that kind of junk."

This man is completely unnerving. He gave nothing away. I'm used to people and their facial reactions, their faces basically screaming what they were feeling...but this man? - I could hardly catch on to what was swimming underneath the surface of his eyes. How could someone hide so well behind their own guise? Was it because of his work?

"So what does her tattoo have to do with her…" my words drift off, not being able to finish my question. Its been a year since she passed, yet I still wasn't able to get over that fact. The memory of her. The memory of who she used to be.

At one point, I had thought I had made all of it up. The all consuming fear that pounded through my veins and sloshed my brain to stop. The frantic almost painful beating of my heart as my chest constricted around it. Her tiny body, with the bleeding bump on her mid-section. I had laughed about it at her funeral, I mean seriously, there was just no possible way that she could've been snatched away from so fast. I even saw her after school, walked her to her car and told her that I'd be at her house in an hour. I should've just followed her home like I normally did. Then maybe she wouldn't be a memory.

"Murder?" he finishes for me without hesitation.

Another nod from me.

"There's a connection. Do you know who she was associated with?" he asks me as he leans further back into the recliner. Calm. Collected. I almost envied him for it. How the hell was he composed about all of this? Didn't it ever bother him? Digging in closets that want to be closed and exposing rotting corpses that wanted to be left alone?

"What do you mean?" Where the hell was he trying to get at with this question?

"There have been bodies with the same marking as your friend. Miss Watanabe was one of the firsts, so I'm asking you if she was involved with some sort of gang."

My heart jolts at the thought of other girls found dead. Just like Kagura. But My Kagura wasn't involved in anything like that, was she? She had been everything. Had been happy but moody. Had been a stuck up bitch but very caring. She was pregnant at such a young age but had been handling it very well.

"That I know of no." Come to think of it, she was cautious, too cautious. As if she feared for her life. She suspected everybody around her. She even doubted any innocent motive of others. Was this the reason she was always like that? Locking up after everybody, putting up the alarm even when everybody was in the house? Recording those private calls?

"How long did you know Miss Watanabe?" he asks me and I wasn't sure if he had narrowed those eyes of his.

_Was he suspecting me?_

"I think almost a year." and even within that year she had been a puzzle. She was full of shadows and dark secrets. And those were hers to feed her nightmares. I wasn't going to push her into talking about things she wanted to leave behind. Especially when I was doing exactly the same as her. In all honesty? — I had found the one person that I could relate to. Her. It had been a silent truce that we had agreed on. Where we wouldn't push each other to talk about those sensitive subjects. It was a day in, day out of shoving those thoughts and unspoken fears the the side. She understood me, just like how I understood her.

"And within that year she never told you anything that might be helpful to us right now?"

I shake my head. "I'm not sure. We used to talk about anything and everything. Stupid things mostly."

"What about her pregnancy? Did she ever talk about it?" His questions come in faster. Not leaving a second to hang after I answered. There was harder edge to his tone as well.

_Did he really think that he would discover the mysteries of the world if he talked to me?_

"No." As much as I wanted to help that's all I was able to say; no. Me and her just simply didn't talk about us. We had been forced together because she had been falling behind and the teacher had volunteered me without even asking if I was able tutor her. I didn't even like her to begin with. She had seemed so vain. Pranced around the school like if she was above everybody else. But I soon realized that it was her mask. She didn't want anybody to figure her out, she kept everybody at a distance. She was scared of the unknown that might be coming her way, just like I was. And that's what made me latch onto her. after that little click, things started to smooth out for the both of us. We started to call each other. She started to sit with me and friends at lunch. She became a part of me. Fitting in well within one of the small compartments of my heart.

"No?" if it were possible, with that look alone that he was giving me, he probably would've diged inside of me and looked for the information that he needed instead of waiting around for my answers.

"What does the meaning of word 'no' mean?" I couldn't help that ugly side. Its not that I meant to say it, but it was in my nature, it was the way I knew how to defend myself. Being sarcastic and acting like if I knew better.

"Who was the father of her unborn child?" his voice was still smooth but danger danced in his tone.

"What part didn't you understand?"

"Answer the question girl." he demands as he stood up in one swift movement. In that moment his beauty was terrifying. Yet dangerously alluring.

I look away from him to my right. Staring at the giant sized family portrait of a smiling family that probably was once like that, several years back, but now it didn't deserve to be there anymore. Showing something off that wasn't true was just plain out hypocrisy. It deserved to burned at a stake.

The slight smell of salmon hung in the air. Kaedes making my favorite. And the far off sounds of lawnmower broke into the deafening silence that surrounded us.

"She never talked about it to me." I say quietly, letting go of the breath that had started to burn my lungs. "She avoided talking about it like if something might pop out of nowhere and get her for it. She was scared. Not about her being pregnant but for her life. The only thing I know for sure is that she used to record some of her calls. "

"I see. What about your father?" Amazing how his eyes still looked bored even with that tiny burst of anger he displayed right now.

_Wait, what?_

"My father?"

Uhhh...did I miss something here? How did it go from Kagura to my dad?

"Yes."

"I don't have a dad."

"Onigu -"

I push myself off the couch. Anyone insinuating that _HE_ was my father always left me deaf with anger. "He isn't my father."

"Who isn't your father?" Came his dark voice from the doorway. My eyes instantly land on him. The churning fear spiked my pulse and I prayed to whoever was listening that nothing had shown on my face.

"You." I force that word past my lips. I knew that there would be serious repercussions for it, but even then I would still defy him.

A tiny smirk — just a tiny one, that barely pulled at the corners of his mouth formed as he looked at me. The red hues of his eyes seemed to show itself more whenever he smiled that way.

He didn't peak one word, but I already knew his intentions.

He enjoyed it. Enjoyed every time I went against him. It was all the more reason for him to "discipline" me. And I hated that I could never control myself around this man, how much control he had over me. I hated how I was at his mercy. But I was also scared. Terrified that one day, he might swallow me whole and really break who I am.

I turn from him and look at the detective. He wasn't looking at me anymore, he was digging his eyes into the person that had disturbed us, "Detective Takahashi." That caught his attention. "It was a pleasure meeting you. Now, if you have any further questions about father, you may ask him yourself."

I walk past both of them. I was not about to stay a second longer in a room where _his_ presence was creating ripples in my own comfort. Mom's hectic-ness and rash-lessness was child's play compared to him.

"Mr. Oni - " I heard the detective say as I walk out of the living room.

"Now now, there's no need for formalities. Call me Naraku."

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**A.N: Hope ya'll enjoyed. R&R please. I'd Love to hear from ya'll**


	6. Warnings

_**DISCLAIMER: Don't own squat. It's all Rumiko's. Yep. All hers.**_

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_**CHAPTER 06: Warnings**_

The glossy surface of the photo reflects the light from the chandelier above as its slid across the table.

"Do you know her?" his calm voice slices through the silence of the house.

"Do _you_ know her?" came the gruff response. He hated when this asshole came barging into their home and demanded things like if he was the ruling lord of this tiny place.

A chair grates across the floor. The seconds tick away. The dripping water from the faucet keeps in time with every strike of each second. "I do."

He picks up the photo, holding it between his index finger and thumb, taking in her sweet smile. A smile that reached into her stormy blue eyes and crinkled the edges around them. This side of hers; her smiling and looking like she had no care in the world, didn't look nothing like the girl that came into the cafe every single day just for a cup of hot chocolate. Yet it was her, the blue in the black of her long wavy hair gave it away.

"Get close to her." He demands in that smooth toneless voice that always grates on his nerves.

"What do I get out of it?" like hell he was going to do his brothers dirty work. He could care less what his brother was up to. He could even care less if he put his own life on the line, but now way in hell was he about to risk the safety of his own mother. Besides, whats the point of doing something when you don't get anything in return?

"Whatever it is you want from her. Fuck her if you have to. All I want is information." he says, as he opens the fridge door and takes out a water bottle.

"What kinduv of info you want?" His brother never asked him for help, and this is exactly what he was insinuating without directly asking for it.

"She's connected to the murderer of our father little brother." Now he understood.

It was the whole reason why he had abandoned his only family. For years, he had been trying to track down a ghost that had killed their father and now that he finally had the bastard within his reach, he was willing to do anything get him, even if it meant doing it by unethical means. Even if it meant putting the life of his little brother in danger after he had promised his own father that he would protect both his step brother and mother.

"Alright," was his answer as he set the picture on the flat surface of the table. For years he dreamt of revenging his father. He wanted to make the bastard pay for tearing his family apart; he was willing to break her in half. After all, she's just a girl, a fine piece of ass.

"I'll only warn you once. Dont. Fall. In love with her. Is it understood?"

"Yea, yea. I hear ya. You ain't gotta tell me twice bastard."


End file.
